Suspension conveyor systems of this type are used for the intra-plant conveyance of objects, numerous constructions of such systems being known in prior art. One such suspension conveyor system is described for instance in German Pat. No. 2,201,323. This known suspension conveyor system is equipped with rails permitting only a centrally suspended position of a conveyance unit in which both travelling rollers travel on associated travelling surfaces and cooperate with one another to carry the weight of the objects to be conveyed. This construction of a suspension conveyor system suffers from the disadvantage, however, that the rail and conveyance unit system is symmetric and thus requires the same space on both sides of the rail center line. This construction likewise results in the radius of curved rail sections to be relatively limited. This leads to certain difficulties particularly in cases in which the known suspension conveyor system is to be installed in allready existing buildings necessitating diversions around columns or struts or the passage through restricted areas. A decisive disadvantage of the previously known suspension conveyor system is also to be seen in the fact that the switches for center suspension rails are of relatively complicated construction requiring the use of movable switch points. Repeated switching operations as required for establishing and interrupting connections between rail sections result in rapid wear or misalignment of the movable parts, requiring them to be replaced or readjusted for reducing the danger that the conveyance units including the conveyed objects drop to the floor.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve a suspension conveyor system so as to achieve a broadened field of applications by the employ of a simple and reliable construction.
This object is attained according to the invention by the changeover means provided along the rail circuit according to the invention permits the suspension position of the conveyance unit to be changed as required. Thus a conveyance unit arriving in the centrally suspended position may be tilted to a laterally suspended position and back again, or a conveyance unit arriving in the right laterally suspended position may be caused to continue its travel in the left laterally suspended position. This permits the radius of curved rail sections to be considerably reduced, as the conveyance unit in its laterally suspended position, be it to the right or to the left, is capable of negotiating right or left bends with a considerably reduced radius without locking than would be possible in the centrally suspended position.